Naruto grumbled inwardly as he hurried along.
At that thought, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted into a helpless, wry smile.
Although Naruto still couldn't be certain what Sasuke truly felt, judging by his behavior, he figured he was pretty close.
"My God, you shitty system, tell me-did you plan all this from the start?"
Naruto's face grew a little hot.
At first, he had schemed to win Sasuke over because Sasuke always gave him higher gains in both stats than ordinary ninja did.
Back then, pretending to court Sasuke had seemed like a decent way to grow stronger quickly.
But he had never considered the consequences...
[Ding. Host, quit your bullshit and stop dragging this system through the mud. The moment you decided to play Sasuke, you tangled yourself up in this chain of cause and effect.]
Naruto: (*≧▽≦)ツ┻━┻ [Flips the table, laughing wildly]
"Ahahahaha... you've got a fucking point!"
Deep within the Uchiha Fiefdom, before a vast cemetery, a lively-looking youth with delicate features and twin tails swung the kunai in his hand over and over. Before the chakra in his body ran dry, he had repeated that motion no fewer than a thousand times.
Even though his shoulders, arms, and wrists were so numb he could barely feel them, his large eyes held no pain, only fierce determination.
Huff, huff, huff...
He bit his red lip, pushing his stamina past its limits again and again, hoping to improve his close-combat skills this way and numb the disappointment and dejection someone had caused him.
But with one final swing of the kunai, his strength finally gave out. Unable to keep his grip as he swung, he dropped the weapon with a clatter.
"It's not enough. Just this... is nowhere near enough to kill that woman."